When I had under 10, it was super easy to remember all of my dolls’ names. Now that I’m getting up there in number, sometimes it actually takes me a moment when I look at a doll to think about what their name is. This usually doesn’t happen with a doll that’s been in my Blythe family for a while (like I could ever forget Sophie’s name!), but it sometimes it does happen with newer dolls.

The other day I was having a conversation where I called my Mondrian Lollie and then I paused and went “No wait, her name is ‘Lottie’…” and the person I was talking with went “Did you really just forget your doll’s name?”

“Do I look like a Lollie to you?!”

Yes, the answer is yes. For instance, I know that I named my Devi Delacour Maple Reed, but the other day I caught myself only referring to her as Reed and I knew as soon as I said it out loud that was wrong as well. I’m terrible, I know.

I really should just get little name cards for all my dolls so when they’re on the shelf they’re easily identified by name, stock name, and mold type – like in a museum.

Written on January 27, 2017 at 1:00 pm by MichelleFiled under: Article with tags: photography

One of the cute, quirky things about Blythe is her over-sized noggin to body ratio. It’s also one of the things that makes her so difficult to stand up! This is one of those moments when geometry comes into play in “real life” and suddenly it makes sense why your math teacher in grade school told you that this information was important.

Basically, there’s the ground, the doll, and whatever you’re using to stand up your Blythe. You want your Blythe doll and the ground to form a right angle, and then whatever you’re using to prop up your doll to form the hypotenuse, like so:

Now, there’s a variety of things that you could use to from the hypotenuse. Some sampling of things that I have used before include: plastic fork, chopstick from sushi take-out, bamboo skewers, and random sticks found on the grass. There’s pros and cons to all of these items, so lets go through some of them.

The plastic fork is fantastic because it can be inserted into the ground. This is especially good if you are trying to stand your Blythe up in grass or a sandy beach. You can insert the tines of the fork into the ground at and angle and that provides more support of your top-heavy Blythe. Plastic forks don’t tend to be particularly long, so chances are the end of the fork will rest on your Blythe’s back. Bonus – plastic forks can be clear/translucent! This is especially useful if you’re not wanting the fork to show that much. I used proper silverware in the photos of this post because silver is easier to see in photos than clear plastic, and for the tutorial’s sake it makes it easier if people can visualize what I’m talking about.

Chopsticks are fantastic. I personally like the unused variety of take-out chopsticks that are still attached together. Why? Because it provides a larger ‘base’ for the doll to rest against. Having a wider surface to rest against means that there’s less risk of her tipping to one side or the other while I’m trying to stand her up. Win-win!

Bamboo skewers are cheap, they’re easy to find at dollar stores (or perhaps you have some leftovers from making kabobs?), and they’re sharp and pointy – for the ease of inserting into the ground. One of the problems I’ve personally found with bamboo skewers is that they can break easily. They aren’t the sturdiest things I’ve ever used to stand up one of my Blythes, and I find that they can break in the ground if I’m trying to insert them into not the softest earth. Another downside to using skewers is that they don’t offer a particularly wide base – but you could use two bamboo skewers to form let another triangle – but this time it’d be an equilateral triangle (geometry comes in so handy in real life!) where the ground forms the base and the skewers form the equal sides.

Random sticks can be fantastic – free, and you won’t feel bad leaving them where you found them because that’s where it belongs! Chances are you’ll be able to find sticks anywhere – the downsides is that it may not be long enough, or too stick, and you may have a hard time hiding it in your photo (and if you don’t have the magical Photoshop skills, it may be hard to edit out). This is by far the cheapest method (can’t beat free!), so it is your best bet if you’re out and about and just need something to help you out with a photo.

But last, and certainly not least, just lean your doll against something! Propping up your Blythe against a wall or a bench or a tree will save you the hassle of trying to put geometry into action, although it may not provide you with quite the look that you were looking for. Use grooves between floor boards or tiles to your advantage! They’re there for a reason (and it’s an added bonus that they help with your doll photos!).

(And if you’re a parent, feel free to use this as a lesson to your kids about why math class is important!)

Written on January 25, 2017 at 12:00 pm by MichelleFiled under: Article with tags: meets

I love attending local Blythe meets. It’s fun to see what new dolls someone has, or to see what someone is trying to destash (I love getting new-to-me clothes or shoes locally this way because it helps save on postage costs!). I really enjoy the company of my local doll friends, and a lot of the time we don’t even talk about dolls! It’s fun when we do talk about dolls though (and new dolls…!). Here are some fun activity ideas for Blythe meets:

Cookie decorating station – this can be made themed for an upcoming holiday and someone can prebake the cookie bases ahead of time. For Valentine’s Day, perhaps some heart cookies with white, pink, and red royal icing and fun sprinkles?

DIY mini t-shirt decorating – this one will take a bit more planning, but if someone orders a bunch of plain doll tees (e.g. from Cool Cat), shirts could be decorated with embroidery, fabric markers, iron-ons (printed from a printer or store-bought), or little patches.

Button making – this one requires someone having a button maker, but everyone could draw out their own button design (perhaps a pull ring or an eye chip?) and then pin in to their doll bag!

Scrapbooking – A great way to use all those photos of Blythes we’re always taking! It is surprisingly not that expensive to get photos printed these days, and a lot of scrapbooking supplies can be found at dollar stores or big box craft stores. Just make sure that you get acid-free papers and glues to prevent damaging the photos.

Tutu making station – I’m a huge fan of tutus and I even shared a tutorial here on BlytheLife on how to make an easy tutu! A roll of tulle can be fairly inexpensive (it can be found in floral shops as well as fabric/craft stores), and it’s an easy tutorial that most anyone of any level of crafty ability can do.

Furniture painting/decorating – It sounds like a lot of work, but I’ve found that a lot of dollar stores and big box craft stores will carry 1:6 or 1:12 sized furniture (usually wooden) for fairly low prices. With a few bottles of acrylic paint and maybe some sand paper, your group could make some cute and one of a kind pieces in afternoon!

Do a present exchange – this is not limited to the month of December! Set a reasonable limit (say $10-15), have people bring in wrapped gifts for Valentine’s, spring, Easter, summer, Halloween or just because. It’s fun to receive presents, but it’s even more fun to give! Make it doubly fun by making people do silly tasks to earn their presents (e.g. “bobbing” for gifts, or answering Blythe trivia questions!).

Host a sew-a-long – find a simple (free?) pattern online, and have everyone bring in some fabric or supply it to them. You’ll need needles and thread, along with scissors and pins. Try one of the projects on BlytheLife, like the trimmed skirt or felt slippers.

Have a tea party – this for me personally combines my love of tea and love of dolls (and friends). My local group and I have done afternoon tea at some tea houses and it has always been a lot of fun, but it isn’t cheap! Do it yourself at home with your friends, get everyone to bring in a light snack to share (some examples would include: mini cupcakes, chocolates, sandwiches, scones) and get your tea steeping!

Organize a swap meet – have everyone bring their gently used, but unwanted, clothes and shoes. Sell, trade, give away – and have everyone go home with something new-to-them. The easiest way to find joy in having something new without breaking the bank!

I hope these ideas come in handy when you plan your next Blythe meet! If you have any suggestions, share them below in the comments!

365 Blythe/A Doll A Day/any other daily photo challenge participants… You’re really not my target audience for this question at all (but feel free to answer below! And perhaps share the link to your Flickr album for your photo challenge?). For the every day Blythe collector (or just the lazier ones like me!), I’m wondering when the last time you took a photo of a Blythe.

For me, it was two days ago, and it was this photo:

While I wish I could spend more time taking photos of my Blythes, it’s not really always feasible. When I work, all I do is work-eat-sleep (rinse and repeat for four shifts) and that’s pretty much my life. I spend very little time with friends/family when I have work because I’m just too tired to do anything else, much less take out a doll and photograph her. It does lead to feelings of neglect on my part for my Blythes because while I do love them, I don’t spend nearly as much time with them as I wish I could on a regular basis. Some days I just don’t have the energy to do it.

I’ve been spending the last several weeks brainstorming a whole list of DIY Blythe-related projects that I want to tackle. The list is getting a little ridiculous, and my sister looked over my shoulder the other day and said “What if nobody actually wants these tutorials?” Of course the first thing I did was make a face at that idea, but then doubt and uncertainty started to set in. What if nobody really wanted to read the tutorials?

So my question to all of you today is: What kind of DIY tutorials do you want to see? Share below!

For those curious, I want to tackle making some miniature food items and furniture (which will be quite photo-heavy tutorials!), and also continue to do paper craft and knitting/crocheting DIYs for Blythe (Neo, Middie, Petite) as well. Any suggestions made, I’ll do my very best to make it happen if it’s within my abilities to do so! I currently have no plans for customization tutorials – it’s not really my forte as I am not a customizer. What customization abilities I do have, I will share tutorials on those (and have in the past).

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